1941: Chess

Events of international importance in 1941 were conspicuous by their absence. And even national championships were beclouded by the far greater game in which continents served as checkered fields. The chess olympics held during odd years were temporarily relegated to the limbo.

Foreign Events.

Here and there meager reports of noteworthy happenings came to hand. Mikhail Botwinnik of Moscow won the 'absolute' championship of U.S.S.R. in a twenty round contest between the six prize winners of last year's championship tournament. Botwinnik captured premier honors with a score of 13 to 6. The tournament began in Leningrad, March 1941, and was completed in Moscow.

Other foreign events included the International Jubilee Tournament of the Club Circulo at Buenos Aires held on Sept. 15. Mojsche Najdorf, Polish immigrant stranded in Argentina, led the field with a score of 14 to 1, followed by M. Czerniak, champion of Palestine. German exile Herman Pilnick was third. From Oct. 18 to Nov. 11, Buenos Aires was again the scene of an eventful tournament. Gideon Stahlberg and Mojsche Najdorf, members of the Swedish and Polish teams respectively, stranded in Argentina at the outbreak of the war, divided first and second prizes.

At another tournament in Munich, in which Dr. Alckhine participated. G. Stoltz of Sweden was the victor.

During the early part of the year at Havana, Cuban master Francisco Planas Garcia broke all records for simultaneous play by opposing 618 adversaries at 103 tables. Six players consulted on each board and Garcia wound up with a score of 64 wins, 26 draws and 13 losses. It was estimated that he had walked 15 miles during the exhibition which took 16 hours to complete. Later in the year, Gideon Stahlberg of Sweden created a world's record for simultaneous display in a gigantic performance at Buenos Aires. He contested 400 individual opponents winning 364, losing 22 and drawing 14. He started to play at 10:00 P.M. on Friday, Aug. 29, and finished at 10:05 A.M. on Sunday, Aug. 31, a total of 36 hours and 5 minutes.

The year 1941 began on a sad note when the death of Dr. Emanuel Lasker was recorded on Jan. 11. He was 73 years old. He had held the World's Championship from May 2, 1894, to April 10, 1921.

A tragic episode was reported by the British Broadcasting Company to the effect that Dr. Karel Treybal, Czechoslavakian master, was executed by Hitler's hireling, Reinhard Heydrich, Reichsprotector of Bohemia-Moravia. And the International Master, Dr. O. Bernstein was condemned to a concentration camp.

Canada.

Chess activities continued on the North American continent. In Canada. Abe Yanofsky, 17-year-old Winnipeg prodigy, topped the list of 12 contenders for the Canadian Championship. He outdistanced Maurice Fox of Montreal, former title holder by 1 points.

United States.

In the United States, several important encounters were promoted. Samuel J. Reshevsky, United States chess champion, successfully defended his title in a 16 game match with I. A. Horowitz, winning by the score of 3 wins and 13 draws. The match lasted from May 4 to May 29. Shortly thereafter, Miss N. May Karff of Boston, former queen of chess, regained her lost throne by vanquishing Mrs. Adele Belcher in a scheduled eight game match. The final score was 5 victories and 1 defeat in favor of Miss Karff.

Grandmaster Reuben Fine added to his laurels by again annexing the title of open chess champion of the United States Chess Federation in the tourney held at St. Louis from July 17-27. The field of contestants was rich in talent numbering among others, Weaver Adams, New England champion; Boris Blumin, ex-Canadian champion, and Herman Steiner, Pacific coast champion.

Fine again exhibited rare form in capturing the New York State Championship. Runner-up was none other than Reshevsky, present U. S. title holder.

In New York City, the Marshall Chess Club retained its title of Champion of the Metropolitan Chess League by defeating the Manhattan Chess Club by a score of 9 to 8. In view of the caliber of the participants, the victors may be said to be the team champions of the United States.

Jacob Levin of Philadelphia distinguished himself by leading a field of notable masters at the 3rd annual invitation tournament at Ventnor City, N. J. Levin's final score was 6 to 2.

The colleges as usual evinced interest in the game. Rutgers University Chess Club won the New York-New Jersey Intercollegiate championship without sustaining a single defeat. Herbert Seidman of Brooklyn College won the individual championship of the Eastern Intercollegiate Chess League with a clean sweep of 7 to 0. In the Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Dartmouth League, Harvard nosed out Yale by a close score. C. C. N.Y. won the Intercollegiate Chess League Championship.

Despite the ravages and havoc of war, the British Broadcasting Company reports that the Soviet Championship Tournament began in besieged Moscow on Dec. 2.